1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is generally related to a cowl latching mechanism and, more particularly, to a cowl latching mechanism that facilitates the removal and replacement of a removable cowl in relation to an outboard motor.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many different types of cowl latching mechanisms are known to those skilled in the art.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,955,526, which was granted to Kusche on May 11, 1976, discloses a cowl apparatus for an outboard motor. The cowl includes separate starboard and port cowl members which are each individually, removably hinged to the rear of the engine by a pair of spaced hinged units which allow separated attachment and removal of the cowl halves.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,348,194, which was granted to Walsh on Sep. 7, 1982, discloses a cowl for an outboard motor. The cowl for a powerhead of an outboard motor includes two bottom cowl members attached together by screws which also mount a latch bracket and a hinge member. The latch bracket supports a latch mechanism which, with the hinge member serves to hold a top cowl member in place.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,600,396, which was granted to Crane et al. on Jul. 15, 1986, discloses a cowl latch for an outboard motor. The latch includes a catch mounted on one of the cowl members. A lever is pivotally attached to the other cowl member and a resilient spring is pivotally attached to the lever. The lever and spring member act to provide an overcenter action on the lever when the latch is closed. The lever includes a shield to conceal the latch assembly.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,844,031, which was granted to Boda et al. on Jul. 4, 1989, discloses a rotary latch mechanism for securing cowl sections of an outboard motor. The cowl assembly has an upper cowl section which includes various features for improving the structural integrity of the cowl assembly and for providing a water resistant seal at the joint between the cowl sections and at various points of entry of cables and other mechanical devices.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,875,833, which was granted to Slattery on Oct. 24, 1989, discloses a latch assembly for releasably securing cowl sections of an outboard motor. The assembly includes an upper cowl section and a lower cowl section and is provided with an improved latch assembly. The latch assembly incorporates a pivotable hook connected to one of the cowl sections, which is engageable with a hook engaging member provided on a catch mechanism connected to the other cowl section. Due to the presence of a compressible seal between the upper and lower cowl sections, relative vertical movement is possible therebetween, and thereby between the hook and the hook engaging member.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,927,194, which was granted to Wagner on May 22, 1990, discloses an interlock latch assembly for releasably securing cowl sections of an outboard motor. An interlock mechanism is provided for a latch assembly which releasably secures upper and lower cowl sections of an outboard motor. The interlock mechanism is movable between a locking position and a release position and is normally disposed in its locking position, such as by a coil spring. The interlock mechanism is mounted to the latch handle, which is pivotably mounted to one of the cowl sections. A hook is interconnected with the latch handle, and is engageable with a catch assembly provided on the other of the cowl sections.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,025,763, which issued to Watanabe on Jun. 25, 1991, describes a latching mechanism for an outboard motor cowl. The latching mechanism is used for connecting the top portion and tray of a cowling which surrounds an internal combustion engine of an outboard motor. A pair of keepers, one secured to the front side of the top portion of the cowling and the other secured to the rear side of the top portion, engage with a connecting mechanism secured on the front and rear sides of the tray of the cowling to connect the top portion and tray of the cowling with each other.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,120,248, which was granted to Daleiden et al. on Jun. 9, 1992, discloses a cam type latching mechanism for securing cowl sections together. A latch system for securing upper and lower cowl sections to an outboard motor is disclosed. The latch system comprises a catch assembly located at one end of the cowl assembly and a latch mechanism located at the other end of the assembly. The catch assembly includes a catch block mounted to one of the cowl sections with a catch slot formed in the catch block. A roller member is mounted to the other of the cowl sections for engaging the catch slot. The catch slot is formed so as to provide an end wall against which the roller is maintained when the cowl sections are secured together with the material of the catch block engaging the roller member to prevent relative vertical movement between the cowl sections.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,338,236, which was granted to Dunham et al. on Aug. 16, 1994, describes a latch mechanism for an outboard motor cowl assembly. A cowling comprises a first cover member including an outer surface having therein a recess, a second cover member mating with the first member, and a selectively engageable latch mechanism for securing the second member to the first member. The latch mechanism includes a latch handle which is supported by the first member which is movable in a first direction between a flush position wherein the latch handle is in the recess and is flush with the remainder of the outer surface and a non-flush position wherein the latch handle extends from the recess and which is movable in a second direction to engage and disengage the latch mechanism.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,080,025, which was granted to Isogawa et al. on Jun. 27, 2000, describes a cowling latch for an outboard motor. The latch is for an outboard motor having an upper cowling having a lower surface and a lower cowling having an upper surface. The cowling latch comprises a first latching member connected to the upper cowling and a second latching member connected to the lower cowling. The second latching member is movable between a first position in which it engages the first latching member for connecting the upper and lower cowlings and a second position in which it does not engage the first latching member.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,179,350, which was granted to Ely et al. on Jan. 30, 2001, describes a draw latch. The draw latch is intended for attaching one member to another, such as a first panel to a second panel. It is unlatched and latched by lifting the latch handle in one direction or the other about a pivot access which actuates a pawl member which is pivoted to engage and secure a first catch of a keeper, the handle being pivoted to be secured on a second catch of a keeper with the pawl being latched against a spring bias provided by a keeper member.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,669,517, which was granted to Alby et al. on Dec. 30, 2003, discloses a multiple part cowl structure for an outboard motor. The cowl comprises first and second cowl members that are independent components. A first cowl member is attachable, by a latch mechanism, to a support structure of the outboard motor. The second cowl member is attachable by a latch mechanism to both the first cowl member and the support structure.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,682,379, which was granted to Walczak et al. on Jan. 27, 2004, discloses a cowl latching system which simplifies the cowl removing process. The system provides a retainer that is attached to the outboard motor and a catch device which is attached to a cowl structure. The catch device is shaped to allow the retainer to move between first and second extension portions. The retainer is provided with first and second retention members that can each move from a retracted position to an extended position under the urging of a resilient member such as a spring. The first and second retention members can also be urged from their respective extended positions to their respective retracted positions by the movement of the first and second extension portions of the catch device when the cowl structure is installed onto the outboard motor.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,840,827, which was granted to Vignau on Jan. 11, 2005, describes an outboard engine cowling. The cowling includes an upper motor cover, a lower motor cover and a gear case that covers an engine that propels a watercraft. The upper motor cover mates with the lower motor cover and is configured to assist with alignment during assembly. The lower motor cover is configured to be assembled to one of a plurality of upper motor covers depending on engine size and each upper motor cover is configured to be assembled to one of a plurality of top caps depending on whether the engine uses an electric starter or a pull starter. An illuminator, in the form of a lamp, a removable light or a reflector, is provided on the cowling.
The patents described above are hereby expressly incorporated by reference in the description of the present invention.
It would be significantly beneficial if a latch mechanism for an outboard motor cowl could facilitate the installation of a removable cowl on the outboard motor and the removal of the removable cowl member from the outboard motor without requiring precise manipulation and insertion of one latch component into another. This is particularly important in relatively large outboard motors with large sized removable cowl structures.